Final Encore (25 page)

that wasn’t the way it happened and begged them to

believe me, but they refused. They told me to go and

never come back or face prison time. The last thing my

father ever said to me was that I was lucky to evade

prison, but prison would be nothing like the fires of hel,

and one day, that’s where I would end up for eternity.”

“Oh my God, Ian,” Bily said as he sat down on

the bed and surrounded him with his arms.

Ian continued with tears in his eyes, “My world

had falen apart in less than two hours. Al that Todd

and I had acknowledged, the love that I thought would

last forever; Todd had given it al up to save his damn

education and his inheritance. My life was over. I had

no family, no education, and about eighteen hundred

dolars in my savings account. So I did as I was told. I

left my life and my first and only love, vowing never to

let anyone have the opportunity to hurt me again.”

Bily continued to hold on to Ian until he stood up,

breaking the embrace.

“Now you know,” said Ian. “Now you

understand why I can never trust anyone ever again.”

“Ian, that’s the most heartbreaking story I have

ever heard, and I can’t begin to imagine the pain you

were in, but I’m not Todd. I would never sel you out; I

could never live with myself.”

“It doesn’t matter, Bily,” Ian said. “My mind’s

made up.”

“You can’t be serious, Ian. You can’t turn your

back on me, on us.”

“Bily, you promised that if I told you the story

and I stil wanted you to leave, you would leave. I also

remember you once saying that you’d never break a

promise to me. I want you to leave.”

Bily, broken, stood up and walked to the closet

and filed his leather bag with some of his things. On the

way out, he stopped in front of Ian, put his arms around

him, gently kissed his neck, and said, “I love you,

handsome.” As he approached the doorway he

stopped, turned, and said, “Don’t worry about my

things. I’l come by when I know you’re not here and

pack them up, and I’l leave my key on the kitchen

counter.” He stepped through and slowly closed the

door behind him.

ALTHOUGH Bily had gently closed the door, the sound

rang through Ian’s head like the sound of a cannon

firing. Bily was gone because he told him to go. He

stood at the foot of the bed with tears running down his

cheeks. He crawled under the covers, and that’s where

he stayed.

The next morning he made two phone cals. The

first was to Josh.

Josh answered on the first ring. “Josh Randal.”

“Josh, it’s Ian.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Can you stop by here, or can we meet

somewhere? I need to talk to you.”

“Ian, what’s wrong?”

“Not over the phone, but I realy need to talk to

you.”

“I’l be there in an hour.”

“Okay, the front door wil be open. Let yourself

in.”

“Ian, you’re scaring me. Tel me what the hel is

going on.”

“I’l see you when you get here.”

In under an hour, Josh was walking in the front

door. Ian was seated behind his desk with a bottle of

Scotch and a glass.

“Okay, I’m here. What in the hel is going on?”

Josh demanded. “And by the way, you look like hel.”

“Thanks,” Ian said.

“Wel?”

“Josh, I don’t know where to start.”

“Then start at the beginning.”

“Okay, you need to get another manager for

Bily’s tour.”

“What? Are you crazy? Why?”

“Because I can’t do it, that’s why.”

“Why not?”

“Josh, I should have told you this a long time ago,

and you have every right to fire me, or worse than that,

hate me, but Bily and I were involved romanticaly.”

Stunned, Josh just stared at Ian. “You and Bily.

Together?”

Ian nodded.

“Oh, man, that complicates things,” Josh said.

“Why didn’t you tel me you were gay?”

“I never meant to keep it from you. I’ve never

had a relationship in Nashvile, not even a date, so it

was a non-issue.”

“Non-issue for you, maybe, but I thought we

were friends.”

“We are friends, Josh, that’s why you’re here

now.”

“You and Bily,” Josh repeated. “What

happened?”

“It’s not Bily’s fault. He is one of the best men I

know. Please don’t blame him.”

“I’m not blaming either one of you. You’re both

my friends, but what happened?”

“Josh, please don’t make me get into it, but I wil

say that Bily deserves more than I can give him.”

“Damn it, Ian, I have a right to know, if not as

your friend, then as your boss. If this got out, it could

have had a serious impact on Bily’s career, not to

mention how Capitol would feel about you being

involved with a client.”

“I know, I know. We were involved before he

signed with the label, and I never expected it to get this

far.”

“But it did, and now you and Bily are through

and you want out of his career. Do you know the

position this puts me in with the label?”

Ian said, “Josh, I’m sorry,” as tears slid down his

face.

“Okay,” Josh said, “we’l deal with the label later.

Let’s take care of you.”

“I’l be okay. I just need a couple of days to get

myself together. Bily and I were scheduled to have this

week off before we left for the tour, but I just need a

couple of days.”

“Take the week and take care of yourself,” Josh

said. “I’l make up some excuse at work and find

someone else to manage Bily.”

Josh looked at Ian and realized that he looked

broken. He stood up, walked around the desk, and put

his arms around his friend. “Ian, what happened? You

and Bily were great together, at least as friends.”

“Josh, thanks for understanding, but it’s a realy

long story, and I don’t have the energy to get into it with

you. Maybe someday, but not today. I assume that

Bily’s going ahead with the trip to New Orleans that

we planned, so he’l be back by Friday to go over any

last-minute issues before the tour.”

“Do you need anything, Ian?”

“Nothing you can give me, Josh. Time is the only

thing I need right now, the only thing that wil help.”

“Cal me if you need anything, Ian. Suzie and I are

your friends and don’t you forget it.” Josh turned and

headed for the door.

“Thanks, Josh, I realy appreciate it.”

The next cal was to Jean. Ian pressed the “talk”

button on the phone and started to dial, then hesitated.

Jean and Jules were under the impression that he and

Bily were going to New Orleans, so they wouldn’t be

expecting him to be home or at the saloon, and he

decided not to make that cal after al. He just wasn’t

ready to get into this with them.

He used up al the energy he had to climb the

stairs and get into bed. Al he could do was lie there

and try to figure out how he would put his life back

together without Bily. He told himself it was better this

way, on his terms, before Bily could hurt him. But that

did little to ease the pain.

JOSH had driven almost halfway home before he

suddenly took the next off ramp and turned his car

around, headed back to Ian’s. He wasn’t going to alow

Ian to shut him out. They had been friends for too long

and had too much history. Ian’s happiness was

important to him, and so what if he was gay and Bily

was gay; they were two of his best friends and they

should be happy. They were so good together that he

would talk some sense into Ian and get them back on

track.

When Josh puled into the driveway, the house

was in darkness. The front door was stil unlocked, so

he walked in with a determination to make things better

for his friends. After searching downstairs, he headed

upstairs. He walked into a dark bedroom and flipped

the light on. Startled, Ian sat upright in bed with a

confused look on his face.

“Get up,” Josh said.

“What in the hel do you think you’re doing?” Ian

yeled.

“I said get up,” Josh yeled back. “
Now
.”

Ian got out of bed and said, “Now what?”

“Downstairs,” Josh replied.

Feeling defeated, Ian went downstairs as he was

instructed and sat on the couch.

“Now tel me what the hel happened to you that

was so bad that you would throw away the best thing

that ever happened to you.”

Ian snapped, “I said I didn’t want to get into it.”

“I know what you said, and I’m not accepting it.

If you’re going to get me into some serious trouble with

the label over this, then the least you can do is tel me

why.”

For the second time in one night, Ian hung his

head and told Josh about Todd.

Josh listened with an intensity that Ian found

intriguing. He asked questions and held al his comments

back until the story was over. Finaly, Ian said. “Now

do you see why I can’t go through with this?”

Josh took a deep breath and said, “I can see why

you think you can’t go through with this. But Ian, Bily is

not Todd. Just because Todd had no backbone, that

doesn’t mean Bily wil folow suit. I know Bily, and he

is loyal to a fault. What I can see is him standing up for

you until death. I’ve seen this connection between you

two, and until now I never knew what it was. But now I

see it al too clear. It was a strong mutual love and

support that worked so wel for the two of you.

Somehow I sensed that Bily would protect you at al

costs and you would do the same for him. That’s why I

felt so comfortable going against the label’s warnings

and pairing you two in business. Ian, don’t alow your

fear to run your life. The worst thing that could happen

is that this thing didn’t work out. You got over Todd

and you can get over Bily, but I have the feeling that

you wil never have to experience that. He loves you,

and now I know you love him. Ian, take a chance on

Bily. He’s a good man and he loves you. He deserves

a chance because he’s never done anything to make

you doubt his loyalty. That’s al I have to say, and now

I’m going home to the woman I took a chance on, the

woman I love and trust with al my heart.” Josh turned

around and walked out the front door as he’d come in

and left Ian sitting on the couch.

Ian picked up the phone and started dialing.

BILLY walked out of Ian’s house a defeated man. He

drove back to town and to his little apartment near

Jean’s. An hour later he puled into the parking lot and

turned off the ignition, but he couldn’t force himself to

move. He’d never spent a night there without Ian. How